Apple

Talk about duopoly: Apple, Android ship 92 percent of all smartphones

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 28, 2013

We've said it before, and yet another analyst confirms it: the smartphone market is a duopoly of Apple and Android. The two firms control 92 percent of the market, according to Strategy Analytics researchers. What does this mean? Of the 217 million smartphones shipped during the final quarter of 2012, 200 million were powered either by iOS or Android.

The concentration of the smartphone market in two hands is just the latest indication of an industry-wide consolidation. After mobile consumers in North America and Western Europe spent 2011 shifting from simple handsets to more capable phones, global smartphone growth in 2012 slowed to 43 percent from 64 percent...

The iPhone is now one-fourth of the world’s smartphone market

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Lost in all of the talk of Apple's declining profits was that the iPhone now accounts for a quarter of all smartphones shipped globally in 2012.

Although Samsung's triple-digit yearly growth-rate blinded many observers, Apple last year did eek out 47 percent growth.

It was enough to make Apple the only smartphone maker beside the South Korean firm to show any growth at all in 2012. Apple shipped 136.8 million iPhones in 2012, up from 93.1 million units in 2011, according to technology researcher IDC. Wednesday, Apple announced it shipped 47.8 million iPhones during the fourth quarter of last year...

Pressure mounts on Apple to reveal iOS source code

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 25, 2013

Samsung's first crack at cornering Apple into providing the iOS source code came in November 2011, when it argued at an Australian court it needed to take a look into the iPhone 4S firmware in order to determine the extent of an alleged patent infringement.

And on its own turf in South Korea, the Galaxy maker is putting pressure on the Cupertino, California firm to reveal the iOS 6 source code to judge whether Apple's mobile operating system - specifically, the Notification Center feature - infringes its technology patents.

To say that Apple wasn't impressed would be an understatement: lawyers for the iPhone maker called Samsung's request “insane” and argued its rival is trying to force it into revealing its “most important data”...

German court finds Apple to infringe Samsung’s 3G patent

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 25, 2013

A court in Germany has ruled that Apple's iPhone infringes upon Samsung's patents related to 3G wireless technology and has issued an order to stay a German Samsung v. Apple lawsuit. Patent blogger Florian Müeller who follows tech litigation explains that the case will be adjudicated only after the validity of this patent. Apple, of course, is challenging the validity of Samsung's patent, but that will likely take years to resolve...

Samsung talks ITC into reviewing its patent decision

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

The Galaxy maker, Samsung of South Korea, has cunningly persuaded judges to review their preliminary ruling that more than a dozen Samsung devices copied Apple's patented iPhone features, Bloomberg reports this morning.

Last October, a judge with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) recommended that trade agency impose an import ban on the infringing Samsung device. ITC confirmed Thursday it will review the preliminary ruling.

As a result, Samsung has managed to push back a final decision, which was originally scheduled for March 27...

How Samsung came up with iPhone-mocking ads

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 23, 2013

When it comes to Samsung's Galaxy devices and competition with Apple, you could say its advertising approach is overly abrasive.

It doesn't shy away from likening Apple fans to iSheep, poking fun of those who'd wait in line for an iPhone and targeting the latest iPhone 5 in print, on Facebook and Super Bowl.

The South Korean firm buys expensive ad slots to spoof Apple on prime time TV, with a simple goal: isolate Apple fans from the 'others' by painting them as brainwashed drones who happily swallow whatever Apple happens to shovel down their throat.

As far as general public is concerned, Samsung's negative campaign has put it on par with Apple as people started talking more about its products. If you ever wondered how they came up with the risky iPhone-mocking idea in the first place, here's your answer...

Another reason for budget iPhone: China’s tiny Coolpad outselling Apple

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 23, 2013

Those encouraging Apple to introduce a less-pricey iPhone to compete against Android in places such as China have even more ammunition.

In a David and Goliath tale, a tiny Chinese company armed with a sub-$100 smartphone is outselling Apple's iPhone, prompting some local observers to wonder whether the California-based gadget maker can ever overcome inexpensive rivals.

From analysts to former Apple CEOs come recommendations that the company do more to attract China's middle class, now drawn to Android devices. While Apple reportedly considers offering a cheaper iPhone starting at $99 later this year, the Android-based Coolpad is already outselling the iPhone in China and at one-fifth the price of current iPhones...

Gartner: Samsung supplants Apple as #1 chip buyer

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 23, 2013

South Korea's Samsung has another reason to crow. After enduring talk that rival Apple would drop its rival for TSMC, demand for Samsung smartphones and tablets made it the largest customer of chips in 2012, replacing the iPhone and iPad maker in the worldwide chip eating challeng, reports said Thursday.

A Gartner report on semiconductor purchases also gives a rare glimpse into how much Apple is spending on chips for its smartphones and tablet devices. According to the researcher, Samsung increased spending on chips nearly double that of the Cupertino firm...

More research shows Apple leads in US with 51% of smartphone market

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 22, 2013

Apple's iOS has more than 51 percent of the US smartphone market, leading Google's Android, which claims just over 42 percent of the American market share, according to new figures released Tuesday. The numbers are just the latest prior to Apple's quarterly sales report expected later this week. Handset sales research firm Kantar announced Apple gained 6.3 percent of the domestic smartphone market, fueled largely by demand for the iPhone 5. Meanwhile, Android sales in the US slowed lightly, shedding 0.6 percent from the same 12-week period in 2011...

Reality check: despite FUD talk, Apple demolishing Android in all metrics that matter

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 21, 2013

Now that Apple's stock price appears to have regained some sanity, rising this morning to $500 from last week's low, perhaps its time to introduce some reality into the Apple vs. Android discussions which lately have resembled Chicken Little's adaptation of the Mayan Calendar. Before "The Sky is Falling: Apple orders are down" mania, there was the "Android has the market share and Apple's a has-been" debate.

The core argument and evidence of Android's dominance over Apple was right out of Circular Logic 101: Android has the Market Share. But look behind the curtain and the end of the world does not seem so close - at least for Apple...

New Samsung ad says iPhones are not for work, blasts BlackBerry

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 24, 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fcUf4d-Y3s

You can't blame Samsung for amping up its anti-everyone advertising as it's worked out so well for them thus far. In this new commercial aired during tonight's NFC championship game and subsequently published on Samsung's YouTube channel, a bunch of hipsters working for a mobile games developer are depicted using Galaxy smartphones and tablets. In one instance, the clip highlights multitasking capabilities of these gadgets where you can set the video to play while continuing to browse the web or sort through your email.

Then the focus turns (mark 0:40) to one of the old guards who tells a young office chick that she won't "consolidate" her phones because she has "a system": her BlackBerry with its clickety-clack keyboard is for work and an iPhone with an ugly case is for home. The lady abruptly cuts off the younger colleague after her attempt to explain the benefits of the Galaxy S III: "Allie, please respect my system".

The commercial is a bit weird and primarily targets the struggling BlackBerry (talk about beating the dead horse). There are more jabs at RIM and Apple in an apparent shift of strategy as Samsung takes aim at enterprise market. Oh, and what's up with the unicorns and that guy from 30 Rock?

Samsung’s Galaxy S IV seen building iPhone-like hype

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

The Wall Street Journal published an interesting article today by Evan Ramstad entitled "Hype Builds for Smartphone, but It Isn't an Apple Device." Essentially, the whole piece is about how the commotion surrounding Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S IV handset is reaching iPhone-like proportions.

I didn't agree at first — I've seen leaked photos of Android handsets before, and heard rumors and speculation. But as I started to dig in a little bit I realized that Ramstad was right, there's something different this time around. A lot of people are talking about Samsung's next flagship handset...